All Through the Night
by Fingersnaps
Summary: A misstep helps Tony and Tim see what's important. (Two character first person POV.)


16

**All Through the Night**

"You sure about this Tony?"

"I'm staying Boss, not going to let him face this alone."

"Stop beating yourself up, it could just as easily have been any one of us."

"Ya think? I'm guessing Tim would see things different."

**Six hours earlier**

"For the last time Tony, I'm busy this weekend; you're going to have to find a new wingman"

"Come on McGee, I don't ask for much."

"Yeah, right."

"Jeez, McGrumpy, you get out of bed the wrong side? You've been grouchy all morning, tell him Ziva."

"Do not bring me into your petty squabbles, I have already endured the torture of listening to you argue over who was going to pay for lunch."

A shrill whistle pierced the air as the boss made his presence known. "Metro PD just called, they have Nevin in custody. McGee, you get a warrant for his financial records. DiNozzo, David, you go pick up our Petty Officer, I have questions for him."

Relieved that I'd have some respite from Tony's badgering, at least for a short time, I filed the necessary paperwork, and by the time Gibbs had P.O. Nevin in interrogation I also had some useful information on our suspect, it was information I thought Gibbs should know. I tapped on the door of the interrogation room, hoping Gibbs would agree that the nugget I'd dug out of Nevin's murky financial history was worth the interruption.

I took a half-step back as the door opened and Gibbs gave me a look that would have frozen the blood in my veins once upon a time, but not any longer. "Boss, you might want to ask him about this place, he went to a lot of trouble to hide the fact that he owns it."

Gibbs glanced at the folder, took it from me with a brief nod and turned back into the room. I hesitated before going into the observation room, much as I wanted to see Gibbs ask Nevin about the property in Calverton, I wasn't sure I wanted to be in a confined space with Tony right now. I took a deep breath and told myself not to be such a wuss; focus on the job and forget about the fact my big weekend plans consisted of nothing more than an MIT mascot reunion. There was so much ammunition there for more ragging from Tony that I'd had been careful to keep my plans to myself.

I opened the door to be greeted by two incredulous stares. Tony of course, was the first to open his mouth. "How many times McInterrupter, rule 22?"

"That rule doesn't count if you have a reason to interrupt, and I did."

"Then I hope what you gave Gibbs can get some kind of reaction. So far Nevin has been brickwalling us."

"Stonewalling." I corrected her automatically and Tony joined in, great minds thinking alike...

The three of us watched Gibbs and waited for his next move. He put down the folder I'd given him and leaned back in his chair, Nevin glared at him. "You got nothing on me, just admit it and let me go."

"I don't think so, how about you tell us what you get up to in Lemar Street?"

It wasn't much, barely a flicker, but we all saw it, fear. For an instant Rick Nevin was scared. Gibbs stood up and leaned over the table. "No need to say anything Nevin, we're going to take a look around, and if we find even a trace of drugs you're going to jail for a very long time."

"You can't so that, not without a search warrant!"

Gibbs reached into the folder, pulled out a piece of paper and waved it in front of Nevin's face. "Then I guess it's lucky I got one. You should make yourself comfortable, you're going to be here a while."

Without a backward glance Gibbs headed out of the room, barely acknowledging the agent who would be watching over Nevin. He gave a brief smile as he met us in the corridor. "Good work McGee, when do we get the real warrant?"

"Should be here by the time we're ready to leave Boss."

"Then let's get moving."

NCIS NCIS

Our room by room search for any occupants of the house had come up blank, unless you counted the cats. "Hey, McGee, must be your lucky day, wasn't that a black cat just crossing your path?"

"Only one Tony? Seems like there were more."

"Knock it off you two, we have a house to search. Tony, you start in the living room, McGee take the kitchen. Ziva, you're with me upstairs." Gibbs caught the glint in Tony's eye. "Don't say a word DiNozzo."

As instructed Tony kept his mouth shut and started his search in the living room. I went into the kitchen and started going through the cabinets, my eyes were smarting, then my nose started to itch, I knew what was coming next. "Ah-choo!" I managed to get my handkerchief out in time, but I knew this was only the first of many, I got back to work but pretty soon I could hardly see. How many cats had been in and out of this room? I sneezed again, and again, this was crazy, maybe Tony would help out, I fumbled my way into the living room. "Tony, there's cat dander everywhere in the kitchen, I can barely see, would you...? I can finish in here."

"I'm already done, you need to get over this stuff McGee, you can't let a few cat hairs stop you searching for evidence."

"I'm not saying I need to stop, just...damn it!" I broke off as another sneeze erupted.

Tony took a step back. "Hey! Keep your germs to yourself."

"Not germs Tony, allergies; now will you please?"

"For the love of...okay I'll take the kitchen, you take the hallway, and don't forget the closet by the front door."

"I'm not an idiot Tony; I know how to run a search."

"Then do it and stop whining."

We went our separate ways and I got back to work. I took a minute to regain some equilibrium, it wasn't my fault I'm allergic to cats, why did Tony have to make such a big deal about it? Usually I could control my reactions, but that kitchen...I sneezed again, less violently this time, I composed myself and checked out the hallway; no hidden safe behind the dust-covered pictures, nothing out of the ordinary in the single piece of furniture, a dilapidated wooden chest set near the foot of the stairs. I turned my attention to the closet, switched on the light and stepped inside, it was surprisingly roomy, and had much less dust than the rest of the house. Seemed strange, why would Nevin or whoever used this place keep the closet so clean when the rest of the house had been completely neglected, unless...maybe they didn't want the house to look like much to a casual observer, nothing of interest here people, move on; but this was interesting.

I took a really close look at the space, didn't look as if there was a false wall, but I'd better check, didn't want to give anyone another stick to beat me with. There were coat hooks, not exactly unexpected in a closet, but there was an odd number and one of them looked different, I reached into my back pack, took out the camera and steadied myself to take some shots. "Damn it!" I felt the familiar pricking in my eyes that told me a cat was close by, I spun round to see exactly where the creature was, as I turned I must have caught my foot on the strap of the back pack and lost my balance. In a desperate attempt not to hit the floor I reached out for the hooks, grabbing the first one...

Next thing I knew I was coughing and sneezing yet again, only this time it wasn't cats, and I wasn't in the closet, I was underneath...a basement, must have been a trap door, I coughed again, dust, there was a lot of dust. Not dust, powder, I'd found Nevin's stash. "Oh crap..." If this powder was some kind of narcotic, then I'd just taken in a large dose, this day was going from bad to worse.

I had to get out, let the others know; I fumbled in my pocket and found the flashlight, tried to calm my rapid breathing. Now was not the time to get nervous about the powder, I had to stay calm, think like an investigator. I picked up one of the plastic bags I'd landed on, making sure the seal was still intact and put it in my pocket ready for analysis if required, I ranged the flashlight beam across the walls, there had to be...there it was, a hook matching the one in the closet, and a small ladder too. I pulled on the hook, no sooner had the trap door dropped open than I had the ladder in place.

"Thought you said he was in here Tony."

"He...McGee, what are you doing down there?"

"Fell, found a hidden trapdoor...Boss, Nevin's stash is down there." I was breathless, and it wasn't from stepping a few rungs up the ladder. "I...some bags burst open...I couldn't help it...I really did inhale this time Tony."

Gibbs quickly closed the trap door and pulled out his phone. "We'll get you checked out, and we'll need a sample, see what we're dealing with."

Hesitantly, I reached into my pocket and held up the bag of white powder, Ziva took out an evidence bag and I dropped the smaller bag inside. Gibbs switched off his phone. "Ziva, Tony, wait here; another team's on the way with the right equipment to collect the rest of the evidence, I'll get McGee to Bethesda."

"Boss, I don't need the hospital, I'm okay."

"Let's see if the medics agree." Gibbs took the evidence bag from Ziva. "Good work getting this Tim; let's go. Tony, call Vance, see if Nevin's prepared to tell us what he's storing here now he knows we've found out his little secret, might save us some time at the hospital."

"On it Boss."

NCIS NCIS

We'd waited impatiently for the techs to arrive. "Agent Gibbs said you'd need a car so Travis drove out here in an agency sedan, we can all go back to The Yard in the truck." He handed me the car keys and started to put on his protective clothing.

"Thanks Saunders, you have to pull this lever and the trap door opens."

"Okay Tony, we'll take it from here."

NCIS NCIS

We'd barely made it into the ER waiting area when we were joined by Abby and Ducky.

"Do we have any news Anthony?"

"Nothing; waiting for Gibbs."

We didn't have to wait long as the door opened and Gibbs hurried into the room. "Vance talked to Nevin; he said the bags were full of LSD, the doctor's having the sample Tim got tested to be sure, but I don't see why Nevin would lie about it now. If it's confirmed they want him to stay in overnight, for his own safety."

I gave a sigh of relief. "That's good isn't, I mean compared with heroin or cocaine, LSD isn't so bad."

"Let's hope so, Doc's on his way, he wants to ask us some questions."

The door opened almost immediately and a slight, fair-haired man bustled in. "Agent Gibbs, these are the people you were waiting for?"

"Yeah; Doctor Webb we all work with Agent McGee. Doctor Mallard is our ME, Abby Sciuto our forensic scientist, and over here we have Special Agents David and DiNozzo."

He shook hands with all of us, and sat down next to Ducky. "First of all let me say we're still waiting on confirmation, but judging by Agent McGee's reactions, it looks like we are dealing with an accidental LSD intoxication."

"Timmy's going to be okay isn't he? I mean people drop Acid all the time..."

Ducky held Abby's hand and we waited for the doctor's reply. "While it's true that regular use of LSD isn't uncommon, the first time someone takes it, especially if it's an accidental ingestion, well let's just say there are a number of variables which can influence the kind of trip a person has. If Agent McGee was agitated there is a much greater probability that he will have a bad trip, and in some cases the trip can be very bad indeed."

"Crap...Boss, I was ragging on him about the cats, he was pretty mad, and his allergies..." I couldn't bring himself to look at Gibbs, wasn't just the cats, I'd been hounding Tim about his weekend plans all morning, I wished I could go back, start the day over, I'd do things so much better this time.

Doctor Webb made a note on Tim's chart and gave a slight shake of his head. "If that's the case we could have some problems. There's nothing we can do to prevent Agent McGee going through the trip, all we can do is monitor him as he experiences it, if he was in an agitated frame of mind then it's possible the inevitable hallucinations will be very intense and frightening."

Abby was on her feet in an instant. "You have to let us see him; once he sees us he'll be much better, please."

"Abigail, we must be guided by Doctor Webb, and we must do what he feels is right for Timothy."

"But Ducky...what if he's scared? He should have someone with him, I can help him."

"Abs, calm down, you're not going to help anyone like this."

"Gibbs, I'm frightened for him, I've seen people on trips before, things can get pretty intense, even on a good trip."

I'd been listening to them, trying to understand...but I couldn't bear the fear in her voice, I got up and sat beside her. "Hey Abs, you don't have to worry about him, I'll stay and watch out for him, okay?"

She looked up and tried a smile even though her lip was trembling. "You promise?"

"I won't let him down Abs, I give you my word."

"If I could interrupt." We'd almost forgotten Doctor Webb was still in the room, but he had regained our full attention. "It would probably be better if one of our people stayed with him, he could become violent, and we may well have to restrain him."

"No! No way Doc, he's done nothing wrong and there's no way you're going to strap him down. He won't hurt me."

"If you're sure Agent DiNozzo, we have seen in the past that a familiar voice can have a calming effect, but I have to warn you, when someone is in the midst of a bad trip, everyone and everything can seem dangerous to them, are you prepared to deal with all that?"

"Hey, everyone here will tell you when it comes to talking there's no one better than me. If Tim needs me, I'll be there for him."

Ducky looked unsure. "Tony, when Timothy is in the throes of the LSD induced hallucinations, he may not even recognise a friend, and he could lash out at whoever or whatever he is seeing."

Doctor Webb was quick to add his thoughts. "If you have any doubts, please don't do this, whoever goes with Agent McGee will need to stay the whole time, if a connection is made it can be the lifeline that keeps the trip just the right side of bearable."

"No doubts Doctor Webb, you just tell me what I have to do, then take me to him."

"Very well, we have some soft rooms on the psychiatric wards, not that he needs psychiatric help, not tonight, but he'll be safer in a room with fewer sharp objects. I'll come get you when Agent McGee is ready." The doctor headed out leaving some very subdued people behind him.

Gibbs went into full Team Leader mode. "Ziva, you take Abby home, stay with her tonight." Just for a second it looked as if Ziva was going to argue, but she took a look at Abby, saw the shivering that was barely under control, her red rimmed eyes; we all knew Gibbs was right, Abby wouldn't do anything but raise McGee's anxiety levels tonight. Ziva got up and held open the door.

"Come along Abby, if we rest tonight we can return in the morning and spend time with McGee then, yes?"

When they were safely on their way Gibbs turned to me "Tony..."

"Not changing my mind Boss."

Ducky wasn't done yet. "You heard what the doctor said, he won't be rational, there's no way of knowing what he might do."

"I'm not leaving him Ducky."

"He could lash out; the hallucinations will feel real to him, if you get in the way..."

"I'm stronger than him, always have been."

"But in his current condition; Anthony, perhaps we should follow Doctor Webb's original advice."

"No way, they are not putting him in restraints, I'll watch out for him, stop him hurting himself. Boss, I have to do this."

"I know; you call me if you need anything."

"Won't be necessary, but thanks for the offer."

They headed for the door; I gave them my best Very Special Agent smile and sat down to wait for Doctor Webb's return.

NCIS NCIS

I peered through the small window; Tim was sitting on one of the two armchairs in the room, his fingers beating out a rhythm only he could hear. "Doc, I'm good, you told me all I have to know; I want to get in there before he starts hallucinating."

"Okay Tony, remember I told you about the panic button, if things get too rough..."

"I won't forget, but I won't need it, Tim won't hurt me just so long as I keep him grounded, and to do that I have to be in there."

I could see Doctor Webb was finally convinced, about time too, I'd been telling him long enough. "You're right, seems like you're a good friend Tony, I'm glad, because he's going to need a friend to help him through this. I'll have someone come by with coffee and sandwiches, it's going to be a long night."

I thanked him and turned my attention to the room, my gun and knife had already been deposited with Security, I figured Gibbs would understand me breaking one of his rules, couldn't risk Tim getting hold of a knife if he wasn't in control...Time to move, I stepped into the room. "Hey kiddo, how you doin'?"

He looked up and I could see his pupils were fully dilated and his cheeks were flushed, he seemed to have trouble focussing. "Tony...is that you?"

"Sure is, you cold Tim?" A brief shiver had caused him to tremble.

"Cold? I don't think so, feel...off. Tony, I...the Doc said things can get pretty intense, maybe I should do this alone."

"No way! You think you're getting rid of me that easy; you and me, we're going to have a guy's night in, just shooting the breeze."

"You're so full of bull, hey that rhymes. No, listen, before things get...you know, I want to say thanks."

"Haven't done anything yet."

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and his hand was shaking real bad. "You staying with me...it means a lot, I'm...Tony, what Doctor Webb said; it could get crazy in here, I could go crazy."

"Not you Tim, you're about the sanest guy I know; not going to lie to you, it could be a rough night, but whatever happens I'll be here and it will be between us, no one else has to know."

He seemed to relax a little. I talked to him, about movies, old cases, even got him to tell me some geek stuff, anything to stop him thinking about what was happening to him; seemed to work for an hour or two. Then he started getting more restless, and a couple of times he got up from the chair and paced around the room, his eyes glancing left and right, he could see something, I knew it, but he wasn't going to share. He eased himself into the chair and I could see he was shivering harder than ever.

"You want a blanket?"

"No thanks, don't feel cold, just..." He looked past me, staring up at the ceiling. "Can you hear them?"

To me the room seemed quiet, but from the way Tim was reacting, it was obvious he could hear something. I pulled my chair a little closer. "No Tim, it's just you and me."

"Don't lie to me, they want to take me away, I can hear them talking, they're all around, listen..."

I laid my hand on his shoulder. "We talked about this Tim, you're going to hear things, maybe see things that aren't real. I'll tell you when something's real, okay?"

He looked at me, his pupils so big you couldn't tell his eyes are green. "What about you, are you really here, or am I seeing things?"

This time he reached out for me and I let him hold on to my arm, if he needed a physical connection to the real world, he could hold on all night for all I cared. Only he didn't hold on, he pulled away and stared down at his hand. "You...you did this, I trusted you and you let them crawl under my skin, how...you said you were my friend." He was scratching the back of his hands so hard he drew blood, I tried to stop him, but he was out of the chair before I could reach him.

He pulled off his jacket and started stamping on it. "I'll kill them before they can hurt me, did you think I'd just let them..." He took a rasping breath. "No! Please no! I...they're all over me, get them off me!"

It was happening, almost exactly like Doctor Webb said it would, he said the hallucinations would get more vivid four or five hours after Tim ingested the LSD. I had to find out what he was seeing, try to calm him down. "Tim." No reaction, he didn't even glance in my direction. "Tim, listen to me! You have to tell me what's happening."

He held out his hands, they were shaking so much I wanted to hold them steady, but before I touched him I had to know what he was seeing. He stared at his hands, and he looked scared. "You know what's happening, you put them there...maggots, you know I hate them, you had them in your jacket, now they...they're all over me! Your knife, give me your knife, I have to cut them out, they're eating me alive!"

He ripped open his shirt and raked his fingernails down his chest, I winced as I saw the red weals livid against his pale skin. No more watching, time to act, I grabbed his hands and held them tight, he fought against me, and he was stronger than I'd expected, another thing the doctor had warned me to watch out for. I tried to get him to look at me, but he was too far gone, I guided him back to the chair, managed to get him sitting down and started talking...quiet and low, stupid stuff, went through the whole James Bond canon quoting my favourite scenes, gave him my best Sean Connery but I don't think he took it in. Once or twice he managed to pull his hands from mine and tried to rip the maggots out of his skin, but I held him, for over an hour I sat there, hating to see the terror in his eyes, trying to calm him down, help him escape from whichever hellhole he was in.

When my arms felt like lead, and my mouth was getting dry he fell back in the chair, he looked totally exhausted, and I was hopeful we were over the worst. I managed to take a quick drink, I wasn't sure whether Tim was thirsty, surely he must be. "Tim, hey buddy, how about some water?" I held out a bottle, his hands were shaking too hard to take hold of it, so I held it to his lips and he took a sip. "Attaboy, you want some more?"

"Oh...no, this is bad...you shouldn't...water's bad, you should go Tony, before we both drown, see...it won't stop, from every pore, it's gushing out of me...get out Tony, save yourself, I'm not going to make it, but you can get out if you hurry, go!"

"Tim, I'm sorry, it's my fault, I shouldn't have given you the water. It's another hallucination, there's no water except in this bottle."

He looked at me like I was a total stranger. "You're a liar, you want me dead, I know it, you gave me the drink, now look at me..."

"Tim, if that's true, why am I still here? I'd die too if there really was any water."

"Are you blind? It's a deluge..." He fell to the ground, and I was too slow to catch him. "I...I'm getting lost...everything...the receptor...S dash HTZA...major role...modulation, sensory signals...it's all wrong..."

I dropped to my knees beside him; put my arm round his shoulders. "We're not losing you Tim, the drug, it's bad mojo, you know that, heck you even know which receptor LSD messes with. I don't know any of the geek stuff, but I know you, and I know you'll get through this." I glanced at my watch, hoping the Doc was right about the timescale for all this, if he was, Tim was almost through the worst of it.

"Are you sure? There's so much going through my head...can't tell what's real...it feels real...make it go away Tony, please."

After all I'd seen and heard that night it was that whispered plea that almost finished me. "Oh man, I wish I could; it's nearly over."

"Promise?" The hope in his eyes was almost painful to see, God knows what these last hours had been like for him, watching had been bad enough, to actually be experiencing what he had...I didn't want to dwell too much on that, not while I was the one trying to keep him connected to the real world, however fragile that connection might be. I helped him to his feet.

"Would I lie to you?"

He took a few minutes to answer, guess thinking straight was tough for him right now. "Not about important stuff."

"You know me too well. How about you sit down, wait it out in comfort?"

He shook his head. "Been sitting too long, need to be on my feet, keep moving...maybe they won't be able to touch me."

"Okay, take it easy you must be pretty tired."

"Not tired, can't rest, have to be alert...you never know when they'll attack next."

He was starting to get agitated again and I was pretty much running on empty, maybe I should call Gibbs, he'd come without a second thought. Tim was pacing faster now, muttering words I couldn't hear, he stopped and stared at me, and all thoughts of calling someone else disappeared when I made out what he was saying. "Tony won't lie, we're almost done...not lost...he said, not lost..."

No way was I leaving him then. I let him pace a little longer, poured some coffee from the thermos Doctor Webb left earlier, and took a few sips of the hot strong liquid. If Tim could keep going, least I could do was stick with him. His pace slowed a little, but he didn't go anywhere near either of the chairs, he was alert to every sound, every movement, I tried to stay by his side. But he waved me away. "Don't get too close, they'll get you too, if I keep moving I'll be okay...they, they've been waiting all this time, hiding in the walls, listen..."

I did as he asked, couldn't hear a thing except our breathing. "There's nothing Tim, it's another hallucination, we're alone, just you and me."

"And them...if you concentrate...there, you must have heard them snarling, spitting, hissing...the cats...it's always cats...was that a movie? No, snakes...he hated snakes..."

Any other time I'd have given him kudos for the Indiana Jones reference, but what he was going through was no laughing matter. "Where are they Tim, show me."

He looked scared, and I thought for a minute he was going to refuse, but slowly, inch by inch he moved closer to the wall, he stopped about a foot away and beckoned me closer. "In here, listen Tony, there much be hundreds of them, and they're waiting for me to lower my guard. I can't let them...their claws...they're waiting to rip me apart, see what they did already." He held out his trembling hands showing me the scratch marks he'd put there himself.

"I see it; you look beat Tim, how about you take a rest and I'll take this watch?"

He stared hard at the wall, then he slowly turned his head toward me, weighing up his options, he took a shaky breath. "Not sure I can rest, if they see I'm not watching...that's when they pounce."

"Don't worry, I know their sneaky ways Tim, they won't get past me. Come on, take a load off." I could tell how close he was to exhaustion by the placid way he followed me and sat down without another word. I wasn't sure I could stand up much longer so I dragged my chair closer to the wall and settled down to watch, only I wasn't watching for cats, I was watching him, waiting for his grasp on reality to get stronger, I knew it would, all I had to do was watch...

I stayed awake, so did he, but he also stayed calm and I figured that finally he'd come through just about the worst trip he'd ever known. As the sky outside started to lighten I took a chance and moved my chair beside his; he did take one anxious look at the wall and cocked his head as if he was expecting the noises to come back.

"They're gone Tim, just like I told you, you're safe with me."

He turned to me and I noticed with relief that his eyes were almost back to normal. "Tony…"

"You don't have to say it; I know you'd do the same for me."

"In a heartbeat…"

And there it was, the crux of who we were, no matter how much we bickered, or how tough outsiders found it to understand us, we were there for each other, and we always would be.

THE END

My special thanks to Precious Pup who wondered what might happen if Tim accidentally ingested drugs.


End file.
